The impact of inflation on the economy cannot be ignored as it can affect it either positively or negatively. This is because inflation has a broad impact on the macroeconomy, such as economic growth, competitiveness and the distribution of wealth. Therefore, the way in which it is measured also requires particular attention. Our hypothesis is that the weights of the consumer baskets measuring inflation in the Central European countries (Visegrad countries: Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary) change dynamically under the influence of modern causes of inflation and we assume that the composition of the inflation baskets moves together due to the similar economic environment. The Visegrad countries (V4), consisting of Poland, Hungary, Czechia, and Slovakia, were selected for this study due to their unique position as a loose economic and political alliance within the European Union. While geographically close, these countries have different economic structures and policy responses, making them an interesting case for comparative analysis. Despite their proximity, it cannot be assumed that inflationary trends will develop similarly across these nations. This underexplored region presents an opportunity to examine how diverse macroeco-nomic factors shape inflation, adding valuable insights to the existing literature. In this study, we do not focus on comparing overall inflation trends between countries, but rather on examining the trends in the changes within the inflation baskets. The aim is to analyze how the composition of goods and services contributing to inflation shifts over time in each country, rather than simply looking at inflation rates. This approach allows us to explore deeper insights into the specific components driving inflationary pressures in the Visegrad countries, highlighting how the importance of certain goods and services evolves within the inflation basket across different economic environments. The weights of the consumer baskets measuring inflation are taken from the Inter-national Monetary Fund 2012–2022 data. We used the Kruskal-Wallis test to determine whether there are statistically significant differences between countries’ consumer basket weights. Our results suggest that the inflation baskets of the four countries do not move significantly together, so there are significant differences in consumption patterns across nations regardless of geographical proximity. Also, contrary to our preliminary expectations, global megatrends such as demographic change, digitalisation and climate change have not yet had a significant impact on the weightings in the consumption baskets of the V4 countries. Therefore, these will require increased attention and preparation in the near future, as even if prices remain unchanged, measured inflation could change significantly across countries as weights shift.

inflation; classical causes of inflation; modern causes of inflation; errors in inflation measurement

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